etain
those lessons of submission to God, and acquiescence in him, which I
remember he once inculcated in a letter he wrote to a lady of quality
under the apprehension of a breach in her family with which Providence
seemed to threaten her, which I am willing to insert here, though a
little out of what might seem its most proper place rather than entirely
to omit it. It is dated from London, June 16, 1722, when, speaking of the
dangerous illness of a dear relative, he has these words: "When my mind
runs hither," that is, to God, as its refuge and strong defence, (as the
connection plainly determines it,) "I think I can bear any thing, the
loss of all, the loss of health, of relations, on whom I depend, and whom
I love, all that is dear to me, without repining or murmuring. When I
think that God orders, disposes, and manages all things according to the
counsel of his own will; when I think of the extent of his providence,
that it reaches to the minutest things; then, though a useful friend or
dear relative be snatched away by death, I recall myself, and check my
thoughts with these considerations: Is he not God from everlasting, and
to everlasting? And has he not promised to be a God to me?--a God in all
his attributes, a God in all his persons, a God in all his creatures and
providences? And shall I dare to say, What shall I do? Was not he the
infinite cause of all I met with in the creatures? And were not they
the finite effects of his infinite love and kindness? I have daily
experienced that the instrument was, and is, what God makes it to be; and
I know that this 'God hath the hearts of all men in his hands, and the
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.' If this earth be good for
me, I shall have it; for my Father hath it all in possession. If favour
in the eyes of men be good for me, I shall have it; for the spring of
every motion in the heart of man is in God's hand. My dear ---- seems now
to be dying; but God is all-wise, and every thing is done by him for the
best. Shall I hold back any thing that is his own, when he requires
it? No, God forbid! When I consider the excellency of his glorious
attributes, I am satisfied with all his dealings." I perceive by the
introduction, and by what follows, that most, if not all of this, is
a quotation from something written by a lady; but whether from some
manuscript or printed book, whether exactly transcribed or quoted from
memory, I cannot determine; and therefore I t